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147-555: Sandinista ideology or Sandinismo is a series of political and economic philosophies instituted by the Nicaraguan Sandinista National Liberation Front throughout the late twentieth century. The ideology and movement acquired its name, image and its military style from Augusto César Sandino , a Nicaraguan revolutionary leader who waged a guerrilla war against the United States Marines and
294-521: A rigged election . In 1941, during the Second World War , Nicaragua declared war on Japan (8 December), Germany (11 December), Italy (11 December), Bulgaria (19 December), Hungary (19 December) and Romania (19 December). Only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Nicaragua on the same day (19 December 1941). No soldiers were sent to the war, but Somoza García confiscated properties held by German Nicaraguan residents. In 1945, Nicaragua
441-511: A Liberal and his friendship and break with Augustín Farabundo Marti, a communist, it is difficult to ascertain how Fonseca reconstructed Sandino's image. However, the end result focused on Sandino's anti-imperialist struggle as a path that failed but would succeed under the correct path, making use of the masses. Carlos Fonseca adopted many of the Sandinista military goals from Che Guevara in 1959. Just as Guevara had implemented his guerrilla foco in
588-823: A branch of Nahuas who spoke the Nawat dialect and also came from Chiapas, around 1200 CE. Prior to that, the Nicaraos had been associated with the Toltec civilization. Both Chorotegas and Nicaraos originated in Mexico's Cholula valley, and migrated south. A third group, the Subtiabas , were an Oto-Manguean people who migrated from the Mexican state of Guerrero around 1200 CE. Additionally, there were trade-related colonies in Nicaragua set up by
735-482: A clandestine meeting but did not know who he was until her boyfriend at that time, Octavio Robleto, heard the description of the meeting and told her. On November 24, 1966, their son Carlos was born. Their daughter Tania was born on January 29, 1969. In his book The World Was Going Our Way , Vasily Mitrokhin relates that, as part of the KGB's Aleksandr Shelepin 's strategy of using national liberation movements to advance
882-469: A conscious awareness of their reality and were able to see the exploitation they endured under the Somoza regime. The message Fonseca and Sandino left was to teach the peasants to read and write. This did not occur too often in the 1930s. But for Sandinistas, education was a major function of the movement. Conscious people were committed to the revolution, even with the fatal risks involved. Fonseca made himself
1029-595: A country later known as the Federal Republic of Central America. Nicaragua definitively became an independent republic in 1838. The early years of independence were characterized by rivalry between the Liberal elite of León and the Conservative elite of Granada, which often degenerated into civil war, particularly during the 1840s and 1850s. Managua rose to undisputed preeminence as the nation's capital in 1852 to allay
1176-599: A culture of pseudonyms, code words and other security measures, while assassinating one of the Somoza regime's torturers and robbing banks and businesses to raise money for the movement. Fonseca escaped capture by hiding in the homes of people not associated with the FSLN, most notably his stay, disguised as a priest, for a week in November of 1967 in the second floor of the Managua home of Dame Angelica Balladares de Arguello , who had been
1323-424: A decree increasing taxes and reducing benefits in the country's pension system. Local independent press organizations had documented at least 19 dead and over 100 missing in the ensuing conflict. A reporter from NPR spoke to protestors who explained that while the initial issue was the pension reforms, the uprisings that spread across the country reflected many grievances about the government's time in office, and that
1470-618: A farcical election in 1856; his presidency lasted less than a year. Military forces from Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua itself united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua in 1857, bringing three decades of Conservative rule. Great Britain, which had claimed the Mosquito Coast as a protectorate since 1655, delegated the area to Honduras in 1859 before transferring it to Nicaragua in 1860. The Mosquito Coast remained an autonomous area until 1894. José Santos Zelaya , President of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1909, negotiated
1617-609: A fear of armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza García ordered his assassination. Sacasa invited Sandino for dinner and to sign a peace treaty at the Presidential House on the night of February 21, 1934. After leaving the Presidential House, Sandino's car was stopped by National Guard soldiers and they kidnapped him. Later that night, Sandino was assassinated by National Guard soldiers. Later, hundreds of men, women, and children from Sandino's agricultural colony were murdered. Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships,
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#17328546749871764-489: A few families or groups of influential firms which reaped most of the benefits of the country's growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. When Somoza was deposed by the Sandinistas in 1979, the family's worth was estimated to be between $ 500 million and $ 1.5 billion. In 1961, Carlos Fonseca looked back to the historical figure of Sandino, and along with two other people, one of whom was believed to be Casimiro Sotelo, who
1911-649: A general amnesty and the return of exiles. He took part in the day of protest of the visit to the University by Milton S. Eisenhower , brother of the then-president of the United States. He organized a student strike in November to demand the release of Tomás Borge and other students who had been in prison since the assassination of Somoza. He was arrested several times, in Managua and Matagalpa. In March 1959 he helped found Juventud Democrática Nicaragüense (JDN, Nicaraguan Democratic Youth). Fonseca and his allies hoped to use
2058-825: A group known as the Frente de Liberación Nacional (FLN, the National Liberation Front), which took its name from the movement fighting French colonialism in Algeria. At a meeting of the FLN held in Honduras in July, Fonseca proposed the name "Sandinista National Liberation Front" for the armed revolutionary organization. His suggestion met opposition from more orthodox Marxists within the organization who argued that Sandino fought against foreign occupation but not imperialism. It took several years for
2205-449: A heart attack. His successor as president was René Schick Gutiérrez , whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet of the Somozas". Somoza García's youngest son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle , often referred to simply as "Somoza", became president in 1967. An earthquake in 1972 destroyed nearly 90% of Managua, including much of its infrastructure. Instead of helping to rebuild
2352-518: A mistake that nearly led to the FSLN's disappearance as an independent revolutionary force. By mid-1966, plans for a second FSLN guerrilla operation in the Pancasan region (near Matagalpa) were under way. The operation began in May 1967 with about forty guerrillas. This time, the guerrillas were better trained and armed and had women among their ranks. Fonseca, along with a few other FSLN leaders were committed to
2499-412: A modern Sandino; at times he overlooked the importance of obtaining support from the urban revolutionaries ( Humberto Ortega ). Fonseca envisioned himself as a patriot of the true indigenous Nicaragua. His supporters saw him as a respectful leader, inspirational, imaginative, determined, self-confident, displayed personal-magnetism and had absolute integrity. Where Fonseca distinguished himself from Sandino
2646-618: A number of Nicaraguan exiles who would later become part of the FSLN. On his return to Nicaragua, after visits to Venezuela and Costa Rica, he was arrested again and extradited to Guatemala where he was confined in El Petén and made friends with the future Commander of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR, Revolutionary Armed Forces) of Guatemala, Luis Augusto Turcios Lima . Fonseca escaped from custody and fled to El Salvador, from which he returned to Nicaragua via Havana with
2793-602: A transitional popular-democratic revolutionary phase that would not be explicitly Marxist-Leninist until it reached a socialist society. The Sandinismo of the Terceristas called for 'Marxist ideological clarity' only among its top ranks and not among the masses in fear of Nicaraguans' reaction to such policies. What differentiates Tercerista ideology from other Sandinismo strains is their willingness to have tactical alliances with bourgeois sectors of society. Their appeals for tactical and temporary broad alliances were victorious within
2940-600: Is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and shares maritime borders with El Salvador to the west and Colombia to the east. The country's largest city and national capital is Managua , the fourth-largest city in Central America , with a population of 1,055,247 as of 2020. Nicaragua is known as "the breadbasket of Central America" due to having
3087-408: The 1990 Nicaraguan general election , a coalition of anti-Sandinista parties from both the left and right of the political spectrum led by Violeta Chamorro , the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, defeated the Sandinistas. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas, who had expected to win. Exit polls of Nicaraguans reported Chamorro's victory over Ortega was achieved with a 55% majority. Chamorro
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#17328546749873234-565: The CIA to help the Contra rebels with funding, weapons, and training. The Contras operated from camps in the neighboring countries of Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among rural Nicaraguans to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. Several historians have criticized the Contra campaign and the Reagan administration's support for
3381-516: The Carter administration provided $ 60 million in aid to Nicaragua under the Sandinistas, but the aid was suspended when the administration obtained evidence of Nicaraguan shipment of arms to El Salvadoran rebels. Most people sided with Nicaragua against the Sandinistas. In response to the Sandinistas, various rebel groups collectively known as the " Contras " were formed to oppose the new government. The Reagan administration ultimately authorized
3528-770: The Intermediate Area , between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions, and within the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian Area . Nicaragua's central region and its Caribbean coast were inhabited by Macro-Chibchan language ethnic groups such as the Miskito , Rama , Mayangna , and Matagalpas . They had coalesced in Central America and migrated both to and from present-day northern Colombia and nearby areas. Their food came primarily from hunting and gathering, but also fishing and slash-and-burn agriculture. At
3675-571: The International Court of Justice as illegal. The court also found that the U.S. encouraged acts contrary to humanitarian law by producing the manual Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare and disseminating it to the Contras. The manual, among other things, advised on how to rationalize killings of civilians. The U.S. also sought to place economic pressure on the Sandinistas, and
3822-631: The Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the city of León. The city was rebuilt northwest of the original, which is now known as the ruins of León Viejo . During the American Revolutionary War , Central America was subject to conflict between Britain and Spain. British navy admiral Horatio Nelson led expeditions in the Battle of San Fernando de Omoa in 1779 and on the San Juan River in 1780 ,
3969-490: The National Assembly passed a bill further restricting abortion in Nicaragua . As a result, Nicaragua is one of five countries in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions. Legislative and presidential elections took place on November 5, 2006. Ortega returned to the presidency with 37.99% of the vote. This percentage was enough to win the presidency outright, because of a change in electoral law which lowered
4116-603: The Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s. The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, including contributions by Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío . Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes", Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve , the second-largest rainforest of
4263-505: The rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica 's designation as a biodiversity hotspot . Nicaragua has made efforts to become less dependent on fossil fuels, and it expects to acquire 90% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. Nicaragua
4410-525: The ruins of León Viejo . The clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the "War of the Captains". Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner; although he lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and established his base in León. In 1527, León became the capital of the colony. Through diplomacy, Arias Dávila became
4557-591: The 1970s, the FSLN competed for peasant and worker support with other Somoza opposition groups such as the Partido Socialista de Nicaragua (PSN). The PSN claimed to be a pure Marxist group, committed to fostering mass support of the proletariat and participating in elections before agreeing to any type of revolution. Aligned at first, the alliance between FSLN and PSN broke due to the PSN refusing to take on Sandino's image for he had originally refused to embrace Marxism, and
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4704-667: The 2001 elections , the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Alemán's Vice President Enrique Bolaños succeeding him as president. However, Alemán was convicted and sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement , money laundering , and corruption; liberal and Sandinista parliament members combined to strip the presidential powers of President Bolaños and his ministers, calling for his resignation and threatening impeachment . The Sandinistas said they no longer supported Bolaños after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Bolaños to distance from
4851-849: The American Marines in Nicaragua during the late 1950s. Fonseca's early experiences with student activism led him to declare himself a Marxist in 1954. In the 1950s at the National University of Nicaragua in Leon, Fonseca began developing his radical ideology by studying the Marxist classics. As a student in the 1960s, Fonseca split from the Pro-Moscow Communist Party of which he was a member of due to their unwillingness to commit to armed warfare. This began Fonseca's ideological move toward scientific socialism and revolutionary nationalism following
4998-679: The Americas. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination . Nicaragua co-founded the United Nations and is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement , Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America , and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States . It was previously believed that the name Nicaragua
5145-677: The Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. Eyewitnesses indicate that Carlos Fonseca was killed after being captured. While Tomás Borge was in prison in Matagalpa a colonel in the National Guard told him that Fonseca had died, to which Borge replied "You are mistaken, Colonel, Carlos Fonseca is among the dead who never die." That remark set the tone for the FSLN's subsequent treatment of Fonseca, particularly after
5292-675: The Aztecs starting in the 14th century. In 1502, on his fourth voyage, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama . Columbus explored the Mosquito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua but did not encounter any indigenous people. 20 years later, the Spaniards returned to Nicaragua, this time to its southwestern part. The first attempt to conquer Nicaragua
5439-489: The Contras , citing the brutality and numerous human rights violations of the Contras, alleging that health centers, schools, and cooperatives were destroyed by rebels, and that murder, rape, and torture occurred on a large scale in Contra-dominated areas. The U.S. also carried out a campaign of economic sabotage, and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's port of Corinto , an action condemned by
5586-554: The Cuban revolution, and independence from both the existing mainstream parties and the PSN. Once in Cuba Fonseca began to seriously study Augusto César Sandino , whom Fidel Castro Che Guevara respected greatly; Guevara repeatedly cited Sandino as a revolutionary hero. Fonseca also began to host political meetings in a small apartment in the Miramar section of Havana that were frequented by
5733-432: The FSLN leaders disagreeing with the PSN and Conservative association. In the mid-1960s, the FSLN failed at their revolutionary attempts by using Che Guevara 's foco model, stating that under the correct repressive and alienating economic and political conditions of the rural population, a small armed movement would be able to gain followers throughout rural and urban populations. While many FSLN members were exterminated,
5880-423: The FSLN still existed". . The FSLN adopted an even more uncompromising attitude, criticizing other opposition groups as well as its own members for their lack of revolutionary commitment. The state responded to the Pancasan operation by increasing the repression of the peasantry, forcing the FSLN to redirect its efforts to organizing underground urban networks. The FSLN created a network of safe houses and developed
6027-400: The FSLN's urban networks at a safe house outside Managua to discuss their political disagreements and to create the support needed for a military assault on the regime. . Fonseca died on November 8, 1976, in the area known as Boca de Piedra located at the foot of Cerro Zinica in the region of the same name in the municipality of Waslala, between Waslala and Siuna, in the department of Zelaya in
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6174-711: The FSLN. This "slow motion coup d'état " was averted partially by pressure from the Central American presidents, who vowed not to recognize any movement that removed Bolaños; the U.S., the OAS, and the European Union also opposed the action. Nicaragua briefly participated in the Iraq War in 2004 as part of the Plus Ultra Brigade , a military contingent of mixed personnel. Before the general elections on November 5, 2006 ,
6321-759: The FSLN: (1) the Prolonged Popular War (GPP) faction, led by Fonseca, Borge, and Henry Ruíz, that emphasized guerrilla war, (2) the Proletarian Tendency, led by Jaime Wheelock Román , Luis Carrión, and Carlos Nuñez, which focused on organizing factory workers and barrio dwellers, and (3) the Tercerista faction of Humberto Ortega Saavedra, Daniel Ortega Saavedra, and Víctor Tirado, which worked to establish tactical alliances with businessmen, religious leaders, and professionals. These ideological conflicts were deepened by
6468-663: The Guardia Nacional from the campus. The student movement--sometimes referred to as "the Generation of '59"--took on a more radical cast than the earlier "Generation of '44" that had been aligned with the Conservative and Liberal Parties. The JDN that Fonseca had helped found collapsed in 1959. It was soon followed by Juventud Revolucionaria Nicaragüense (JRN, Nicaraguan Revolutionary Youth), which operated primarily in Costa Rica and
6615-571: The JDN to attract youth outside the relatively small number of university students to the resistance to the Somoza regime, primarily by leading demonstrations and painting slogans against tyranny on walls, while pointing out the shortcomings of the Unión Nacional Opositora (UNO, National Opposition Union) controlled by the Conservative Party. Fidel Castro and the 26th of July Movement took power in Cuba on January 1, 1959. In February of that year, Fonseca, as well as many other more prominent Nicaraguan radicals, traveled to Cuba. The Cuban Revolution
6762-427: The North), where he was named best student in his class while also working odd jobs during holiday breaks. He became best friends there with Tomás Borge , with whom he shared a fondness for the writings of Thomas More , John Steinbeck and Howard Fast . A voracious reader, he studied French to be able to read works that were available only in that language while working his way through the library's section devoted to
6909-457: The PSN and other existing groups. Others felt the same, as the rebel victory in Cuba was mirrored by an increase in armed anti-Somoza actions in Nicaragua. In 1959 Fonseca left Guatemala for Honduras and joined the "Rigoberto López Pérez" guerrilla column led by Commander Rafael Somarriba. That group had the support of the Cuban government through Che Guevara in the fight against the Somoza dictatorship; there were also numerous Cuban members in
7056-482: The PSN's commitment to peaceful and gradualist political struggle against the Somoza dictatorship and did not approve of the September 21, 1956 shooting of Anastasio Somoza García by Rigoberto López Pérez . Fonseca was nonetheless arrested in Matagalpa six days after the assassination when Anastasio Somoza García's son and successor, Luis Somoza Debayle, declared a state of siege , arresting hundreds of students and other dissidents. Some were held for several years; Fonseca
7203-526: The Pacific lowlands – fertile valleys which the Spanish colonists settled, the Amerrisque Mountains (North-central highlands), and the Mosquito Coast (Atlantic lowlands/ Caribbean lowlands ). The low plains of the Atlantic Coast are 97 km (60 mi) wide in areas. They have long been exploited for their natural resources. On the Pacific side of Nicaragua are the two largest freshwater lakes in Central America— Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua . Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along
7350-408: The President of Nicaragua, Adolfo Díaz , requested the secretary of war, General Luis Mena , to resign for fear he was leading an insurrection. Mena fled Managua with his brother, the chief of police of Managua, to start an insurrection. After Mena's troops captured steam boats of an American company, the U.S. delegation asked President Díaz to ensure the safety of American citizens and property during
7497-540: The Reagan administration imposed a full trade embargo. The Sandinistas were also accused of human rights abuses including torture, disappearances and mass executions. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigated abuses by Sandinista forces, including an execution of 35 to 40 Miskitos in December 1981, and an execution of 75 people in November 1984. In the Nicaraguan general elections of 1984 , which were judged by at least one visiting 30-person delegation of NGO representatives to have been free and fair,
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#17328546749877644-410: The Rios Coco y Bocay area of Nicaragua. Largely unable to communicate with the Sumo-speaking peasants of the region, and having done little advance work in the area, several guerrillas were killed by the Guardia Nacional in a confrontation in August, while Fonseca and others were able to make it across the Honduran border oveer the next month. The rout of the FSLN guerrillas in 1963 nearly eliminated
7791-414: The Sandinista military goals from the Cuban Revolutionary experience led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in 1959. Just as Guevara had implemented his guerrilla foco in the Sierra Maestra mountains of the Oriente province, Fonseca believed Nicaragua's Revolution would begin with mass insurgence in the countryside. However, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and Fidel Castro had themselves studied Sandino's war against
7938-491: The Sandinistas won the parliamentary election and their leader Daniel Ortega won the presidential election. The Reagan administration criticized the elections as a "sham" based on the claim that Arturo Cruz , the candidate nominated by the Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense , comprising three right wing political parties, did not participate in the elections. However, the administration privately argued against Cruz's participation for fear that his involvement would legitimize
8085-422: The Sierra Maestra mountains of the Oriente province, Fonseca believed Nicaragua's Revolution would begin with mass insurgency in the Nicaraguan countryside. Carlos Fonseca is considered the principal ideologue of the Sandinistas because he established the fundamental ideas of Sandinismo. Many aspects of Sandinismo are similar to tendencies in other forms of political thought in Latin America like its appeal to
8232-443: The Somoza forces could not bring an end to the revolt by simply killing any revolutionary leaders. Nicaragua Nicaragua , officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is the geographically largest country in Central America , comprising 130,370 km (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras . Nicaragua
8379-445: The Somoza forces was not directed at a socialist telos. Like Sandino, Fonseca wished to ignite the consciousness of the peasantry, and they were a collective force that Fonseca showed could be in control of their own futures. Fonseca believed that the first liberty that the masses should have was the ownership of the land where they labored. Economic sovereignty in the majority of Nicaragua's economic sectors would allow growth to remain in
8526-405: The Somozas there was a lack of properly funded schools in the countryside, most peasant children received no lessons and their parents were illiterate as well. In Somoza's state, he wanted: "… uneducated people, little more than beasts of burden." When assessing the democratic practices in Costa Rica , Somoza stated: "I want oxen, not men, in my country." Fonseca's Sandinistas were bent on "freeing
8673-497: The Soviet Union's foreign policy in the Third World, Shelepin organized funding and training in Moscow for twelve individuals handpicked by Fonseca, who were the core of the new Sandinista organization. However, Russia historian J. Arch Getty , writing in the American Historical Review , raised questions about the trustworthiness and verifiability of Mitrokhin's material about the Soviet Union, doubting whether this "self-described loner with increasingly anti-Soviet views" would have had
8820-438: The U.S. Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly elected administration of President Juan Bautista Sacasa reached an agreement that Sandino would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a land grant for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year. However, due to a growing hostility between Sandino and National Guard director Anastasio Somoza García and
8967-399: The United States. The Carter administration decided to work with the new government, while attaching a provision for aid forfeiture if it was found to be assisting insurgencies in neighboring countries. Somoza fled the country, and eventually ended up in Paraguay , where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party. In 1980,
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#17328546749879114-431: The accomplishments of the Soviet government, including its "free press, complete freedom of religion and the efficiency of its worker-run industries." He returned to Nicaragua on December 16 and was immediately arrested at the Las Mercedes International Airport in Managua by the Guardia Nacional. In March 1958 he signed the Minimum Program of the Movilización Republicana (MR, Republican Mobilization) party, which called for
9261-659: The age of 9, he began selling candies that his mother made and later sold newspapers on the streets of the city. His father did not acknowledge Fonseca as his son until his elementary school years. Fonseca's father broke from the Conservative Party to align himself with the Somoza regime, managing several Somoza enterprises and acquiring large land holdings in the Managua and Matagalpa reegions. Although his father later helped him go to school and educate himself and occasionally invited him to his mansion in Matagalpa, Fonseca held greater admiration for his mother because of her work ethic and strength. Because of this, Fonseca inverted
9408-453: The anti-Somoza demonstrations of the mid-1940s. He left the UNAP in 1953 or 1954, however, later complaining they were "too well off economically, ... too perfumed, too bourgeoisified" and not active enough against the Somoza regime. Fonseca became increasingly interested in Marxism and joined the Partido Socialista Nicaragüense (PSN, Nicaraguan Socialist Party) in 1954. In 1955, after graduating from INN, Fonseca moved to Managua, where he
9555-425: The anti-Somoza movement, when the Guardia Nacional fired on a peaceful student demonstration in León, called to demand proper care for Fonseca and to protest the killings at El Chaparral, killing four students and two bystanders and wounding nearly a hundred others, on July 23, 1959. Nearly the entire city turned out for the funeral march the next day and both students and faculty forced the University to permanently bar
9702-411: The case of Nicaragua v. United States in 1986, found, "the United States of America was under an obligation to make reparation to the Republic of Nicaragua for all injury caused to Nicaragua by certain breaches of obligations under customary international law and treaty-law committed by the United States of America". During the war between the Contras and the Sandinistas, 30,000 people were killed. In
9849-408: The city, Somoza siphoned off relief money. The mishandling of relief money also prompted Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente to personally fly to Managua on December 31, 1972, but he died en route in an airplane accident. Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza, as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation. The Somoza family was among
9996-574: The colony's first governor. Without women in their parties, the Spanish conquerors took Nahua and Chorotega wives and partners, beginning the multiethnic mix of indigenous and European stock now known as " mestizo ", which constitutes the great majority of the population in western Nicaragua. Many indigenous people were killed by European infectious diseases , compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. Many other indigenous peoples were captured and transported as slaves to Panama and Peru between 1526 and 1540. In 1610,
10143-436: The column. On June 24, 1959, the brigade was ambushed by Honduran and Nicaraguan troops in El Chaparral, Honduras, ending in the death of several rebels and the wounding and capture of many others, including Fonseca, who suffered a bullet wound to the lung. He was treated at the San Felipe General Hospital in Tegucigalpa.Fonseca was eventually flown, along with other guerillas held by Honduras, to Cuba. The incident marked
10290-412: The conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaragua's main cities: Granada on Lake Nicaragua , and then León , west of Lake Managua . Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors. Córdoba was later publicly beheaded for having defied his superior, Pedro Arias Dávila . Córdoba's tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in
10437-400: The conservative Somoza National Guards in the early twentieth century. The principals of modern Sandinista ideology were mainly developed by Carlos Fonseca , inspired by the leaders of the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s. It sought to inspire socialist populism among Nicaragua's peasant population. One of these main philosophies involved the institution of an educational system that would free
10584-451: The country's name comes from any of the following Nahuatl words: nican-nahua , which means "here are the Nahuas"; and nic-atl-nahuac , the longer form of Nicanahuac meaning "here by the water" or "surrounded by water". Paleo-Indians first inhabited what is now known as Nicaragua as far back as 12,000 BCE. In later pre-Columbian times, Nicaragua's indigenous people were part of
10731-539: The country, and prevented the government from conducting business for the well being of the Nicaraguan people. Fonseca wished to use his newly developed history of Nicaragua to unite the rural peasants to instill a greater sense of pride, to encourage men to take part in the anti-imperial struggle and to increase revolutionary solidarity. Unlike Fonseca, Sandino was not a Marxist-Leninist . The Nicaraguan people's struggle against William Walker and Sandino's struggle against
10878-506: The country. However, this etymology is considered to be outdated by most historians as in 2002 it was discovered that the real name of the cacique was Macuilmiquiztli and not Nicarao. It had also been discovered that the Nicaraos called their land Nicānāhuac, which most historians now believe is the true etymology of "Nicaragua". It means "here lies Anahuac" in Nahuatl and is a combination of
11025-564: The court Fonseca had acknowledged the weakness of the FSLN and advocated instead seeking unity with other anti-Somocista and revolutionary forces. That translated in practice into educational work and community organizing , creating indoctrination classes and campaigning to bring resources to working-class neighborhoods in Managua. These efforts were largely unsuccessful, as the FSLN lost ground among students while making little or no progress expanding its membership elsewhere. Fonseca later condemned this turn to legal work instead of armed struggle as
11172-495: The death toll were as high as 63, many of them student protesters, and the wounded totalled more than 400. Following a working visit from May 17 to 21, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted precautionary measures aimed at protecting members of the student movement and their families after testimonies indicated the majority of them had suffered acts of violence and death threats for their participation. In
11319-403: The decade Fonseca spent underground allowed him to research Sandino and come up with a more concrete ideological framework and an appropriate time to resurface on the Nicaraguan scene. This opportunity emerged in the 1970s, when the Somoza government confiscated relief funds for personal gain instead of giving aid to individuals and families after the 1972 Managua earthquake . Fonseca stated that
11466-435: The dismay of Sandinistas, in school classes Sandino was described as a bandit and an enemy of good government. In the 1970s, Fonseca brought a new interpretation of Sandino to the Sandinista party members wishing to dispense upon the masses: his quest to attain the sovereign-independence of Nicaragua had not been accomplished generations after his assassination. Sandino wished to remove the foreign influences that were dominant in
11613-462: The effort. Supporters in France and El Salvador demanded that Costa Rica release Carlos Fonseca and his companions, but it was not until October 21, 1970 that they were released after FSLN militants seized two American executives of United Fruit Company by highjacking a Costa Rican commercial flight on which they were passengers, then exchanging them for Fonseca, Ortega and the other prisoners involved in
11760-643: The elections was initially prohibited, and as a result the validity of the elections has been disputed, but observation by the OAS was announced in October. Ortega was reported by Nicaraguan election officials as having received 72% of the vote. However, the Broad Front for Democracy (FAD), having promoted boycotts of the elections, claimed that 70% of voters had abstained (while election officials claimed 65.8% participation). In April 2018, demonstrations were held to oppose
11907-551: The elections, and thus weaken the case for American aid to the Contras. In 1983 the U.S. Congress prohibited federal funding of the Contras, but the Reagan administration illegally continued to back them by covertly selling arms to Iran and channeling the proceeds to the Contras in the Iran–Contra affair , for which several members of the Reagan administration were convicted of felonies. The International Court of Justice , in regard to
12054-411: The end of Fonseca's relationship with the PSN. Whereas Fonseca's revolutionary zeal increased in the aftermath of the ambush, the PSN became convinced that a revolution in Nicaragua was impossible. Labeling Fonseca and other Nicaraguans who fought in the brigade as too "guerrilla-ist," the PSN expelled Fonseca and the others. The failed incursion led to another incident that would have lasting impapct on
12201-508: The end of the 15th century, western Nicaragua was inhabited by several indigenous peoples related by culture to the Mesoamerican civilizations of the Aztec and Maya , and by language to the Mesoamerican language area . The Chorotegas were Mangue language ethnic groups who had arrived in Nicaragua from what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas sometime around 800 CE. The Nicarao people were
12348-435: The exiles and those still working in Nicaragua and among the exiles: how much to emphasize military tactics rather than political organizing, whether to focus on urban rather than rural warfare, the role that different social classes should play in the struggle, the timing and pace of revolutionary action, vanguardism, and alliances with other parties and groups. These differences eventually produced three distinct factions within
12495-530: The failed prison break attempt. Fonseca let first for Mexico, then Cuba, where he remained until 1975. While in exile Fonseca undertook extensive research on Nicaragua's history in the nineteenth and twentieth century, producing five books and essays about Sandino and several short works about Rigoberto López Pérez, who assassinated Anastasio Somoza García in 1956. During his years in Havana disagreements over fundamental issues of political direction surfaced between
12642-682: The fertile western valleys, González Dávila and his men were attacked and driven off by the Chorotega, led by chief Diriangén . The Spanish tried to convert the tribes to Christianity; Macuilmiquiztli's tribe was baptized, but Diriangén was openly hostile to the Spaniards. Western Nicaragua, at the Pacific Coast, became a port and shipbuilding facility for the Galleons plying the waters between Manila, Philippines and Acapulco, Mexico. The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524. That year,
12789-492: The fight is for President Ortega and his vice president, his wife, to step down. April 24, 2018 marked the day of the greatest march in opposition of the Sandinista party. On May 2, 2018, university-student leaders made a public announcement giving the government seven days to set a date and time for a dialogue that was promised to the people due to the recent events of repression. The students also scheduled another peaceful protest march on that same day. As of May 2018, estimates of
12936-582: The first draft of what became known as the Programa Historico , which was then circulated among other members of the FSLN leadership. Those able to travel to Costa Rica adopted the program in July or August 1969. On August 31, 1969 he was captured in a house in Alajuela, Costa Rica. An operation to obtain his release ended in failure in December; his wife María Haydée Terán and Humberto Ortega were captured in
13083-474: The foot steps of Che and Fidel. Fonseca's own writings began mentioning Sandino in 1959 and in the context of the Cuban Revolution during his stay in Havana. In Cuba, where he found a biography called "Sandino: General of Free Men", Fonseca was able to study Sandino freely and to begin constructing what he saw as a uniquely Nicaraguan revolutionary ideology. Fonseca's biographer, Matilde Zimmermann, argues that
13230-590: The former President of the Feminist League, "Woman of the Américas" in 1959, and since 1926 known as "The First Lady of Nicaraguan Liberalism". His efforts to escape detection gave rise to a body of legends about his supposed skill at disguising himself and slipping past the police and military. Fonseca left the underground life in Nicaragua for Costa Rica, where he reassessed the last few years of legal and guerrilla activity in an essay titled Hora Cero , while writing
13377-542: The help of Tomás Borge and Julio Jérez. Between 1959 and 1963, Fonseca and those who would become the earliest members of the FSLN began to organise in the hopes of forming a true revolutionary organization. In 1961, together with other comrades, Fonseca founded the Movimiento Nueva Nicaragua (MNN, New Nicaragua Movement). The MNN had three cells, in Managua, León and Estelí . He published "The Ideology of Sandino" at this time. The MNN then transformed itself into
13524-648: The history of the US. Fonseca also began his work in opposition to the Somoza dictatorship while at the INN by participating in a strike that demanded the removal of a plaque honoring Somoza from the University of León campus. Around this time he attended meetings of a Conservative Party youth group and joined the Unión Nacional de Acción Popular (UNAP, National Union of Popular Action), a party led by intellectuals who had taken part in
13671-410: The inclusion of women, but some of the other fighters were not comfortable fighting alongside women. Like the earlier guerrilla incursion, the Pancasan operation ended with many of the FSLN guerrillas killed by the Guardia Nacional and the survivors retreating to Honduras. However, Fonseca and the others who survived considered the operation a political victory "because it showed the whole country that
13818-538: The insurrection. He replied he could not, and asked the U.S. to intervene in the conflict. U.S. Marines occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933, except for a nine-month period beginning in 1925. In 1914, the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty was signed, giving the U.S. control over a proposed canal through Nicaragua, as well as leases for potential canal defenses. After the U.S. Marines left, another violent conflict between Liberals and Conservatives in 1926 resulted in
13965-538: The integration of the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua. In his honor, the region became " Zelaya Department ". Throughout the late 19th-century, the United States and several European powers considered various schemes to link the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic by building a canal across Nicaragua . In 1909, the United States supported the forces rebelling against President Zelaya. U.S. motives included differences over
14112-479: The lack of class-consciousness that existed during the 1930s. Fonseca explained, "It was to the glory of the people of Nicaragua that the most humble class responded for the stained honor of the nation. At the same time, it was a tragedy because we are speaking of a peasantry without any political awareness. The result was that once Sandino was assassinated, his movement was incapable of continuity." Due to Sandino's ambiguous writings, such as those indicating his years as
14259-441: The largest mass of the population and its anti-imperialist rhetoric. The most important attributes of the ideology make it solely a Nicaraguan creation. In Sandinismo, there is an emphasis that revolution begins in rural regions among Nicaragua's oppressed peasantry, Sandinista ideas are rooted in the symbols of Augusto César Sandino and there is an effort to develop conscious growth through education. Carlos Fonseca adopted many of
14406-542: The last week of May, thousands who accuse Mr. Ortega and his wife of acting like dictators joined in resuming anti-government rallies after attempted peace talks have remained unresolved. Open suppression of political dissent and more militarized policing began in April 2018, but the onset of repression was gradual. Nicaragua occupies a landmass of 130,967 km (50,567 sq mi), which makes it slightly larger than England. Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions:
14553-636: The latter of which had temporary success before being abandoned due to disease. The Act of Independence of Central America dissolved the Captaincy General of Guatemala in September 1821, and Nicaragua soon became part of the First Mexican Empire . In July 1823, after the overthrow of the Mexican monarchy in March of the same year, Nicaragua joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America ,
14700-613: The longest being the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family , who ruled for 43 nonconsecutive years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power in 1937 partly as a result of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional to replace the marines who had long reigned in the country. Somoza García slowly eliminated officers in the national guard who might have stood in his way, and then deposed Sacasa and became president on January 1, 1937, in
14847-403: The minds" of the peasantry by instilling an 'official' understanding of history that places struggle against imperialism and the abundance of the national heroes the peasants at the center of a Marxist historical interpretation of Nicaragua. Nationalism and class solidarity were developed through the growth of consciousness, and as time went by, the realization that the use of arms would be required
14994-402: The most fertile soil and arable land in all of Central America. Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage. The country's most spoken language is Spanish , though indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English . Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region
15141-475: The most. And plenty of desire to do something." . In June 1964, Fonseca and Víctor Tirado were arrested in Managua. The two (along with four others) were accused of plotting to assassinate Anastasio Somoza Debayle . Rather than present a defense during his trial, Fonseca leveled charges against Somoza which were later detailed in his essay, From Prison, I Accuse the Dictatorship . On January 6, 1965, Fonseca
15288-404: The national newspaper La Prensa and ardent opponent of Somoza, was assassinated. It is alleged that the planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime. The Sandinistas forcefully took power in July 1979, ousting Somoza, and prompting the exodus of the majority of Nicaragua's middle class, wealthy landowners, and professionals, many of whom settled in
15435-547: The organization to rename itself the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional. Together with the veteran Sandinista Santos López, Fonseca studied the possibility of armed struggle on the ground reaching the banks of the Coco River. Inspired by the example of the Cuban Revolution, and in particular Castro and Guevara's insistence on the primary role of an armed uprising, while giving less importance to political organizing among
15582-438: The organization. As Jacinto Suárez, who joined the FSLN in 1963 in Managua, later said, the organization's membership at that time amounted to only ten guerrillas in the mountains and twenty or so youths in Managua and León. "Those were years in which we had nothing—we have to admit it—we had absolutely nothing! A wood frame for making silk-screen posters. One safe house. A box of colored markers. A few yards of cloth. Two pistols at
15729-523: The party's National Directorate, however, not without controversy over the preservation of pure Marxist analysis. Fonseca was highly influenced by Nicaraguan hero Augusto Sandino, whose history he was introduced to by Cuban revolutionaries. Sandino led a peasant insurgence against the first Somoza government in the 1930s under the Liberal Party banner. When the Somoza dictatorship was in power they had failed to develop proper educational institutions. To
15876-407: The party's host, former agriculture minister Jose Maria Castillo, until the Somoza government met their demands for a large ransom and free transport to Cuba . Somoza granted the demand, and then subsequently sent his national guard out into the countryside to look for the kidnappers, who were described by opponents as terrorists. On January 10, 1978, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal , the editor of
16023-453: The peasantry and urban workers, Fonseca and Santos López tried to copy the Cuban movement's tactics, down to adopting a timetable modeled on the amount of time that passed from the outbreak of hostilities in Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountains to the guerrillas's march into Havana. The results were disastrous. In mid-1963, a poorly-armed, largely inexperienced and disorganized guerrilla cadre entered
16170-504: The percentage requiring a runoff election from 45% to 35% (with a 5% margin of victory). Nicaragua's 2011 general election resulted in the re-election of Ortega, with a landslide 62.46% of the vote. In 2014 the National Assembly approved changes to the constitution allowing Ortega to run for a third successive term. In November 2016, Ortega was elected for his third consecutive term (his fourth overall). International monitoring of
16317-618: The persistent problems that existed in Nicaragua could not be solved through legal activities and elections. Instead, Fonseca drew from the success of the Cuban Revolution and the life of Sandino to persuade students, workers, and peasants to gain power through the revolutionary force of the FSLN. Sandino, who had fought a six-year guerrilla war against the Conservatives and the United States Marines in Nicaragua from 1927 to 1933,
16464-464: The personal animosities between some leaders: as an example, Borge and Wheelock not only disagreed on ideological issues but loathed each other. Fonseca attempted to address these divisions by urging each tendency to avoid ideological rigidity, but failed; while the FSLN did not split, factional rivalries persisted. Factionalism reached its height in 1975, when the National Directorate expelled
16611-550: The population from the perceived historical fallacies spread by the ruling Somoza family . By awakening political thought among the people, proponents of Sandinista ideology believed that human resources would be available to not only execute a guerrilla war against the Somoza regime but also build a society resistant to economic and military intervention imposed by foreign entities. In Sandinismo, there's an emphasis that revolution begins in rural regions and people among Nicaragua's oppressed peasant class. Sandinista ideas are rooted in
16758-436: The principal leaders of the Proletarian Tendency, dealing a serious blow to the FSLN's urban support base. Those differences were not resolved until 1979, on the eve of victory over Somoza and several years after Fonseca's death. Fonseca had been planning to resume his work within Nicaragua since 1970. . The crisis within the movement finally moved him in 1975 to return to Nicaragua, where he met with those activists in charge of
16905-441: The proposed Nicaragua Canal , Nicaragua's potential to destabilize the region, and Zelaya's attempts to regulate foreign access to Nicaraguan natural resources. On November 18, 1909, U.S. warships were sent to the area after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) were executed by order of Zelaya. The U.S. justified the intervention by claiming to protect U.S. lives and property. Zelaya resigned later that year. In August 1912,
17052-535: The return of U.S. Marines. From 1927 to 1933, rebel general Augusto César Sandino led a sustained guerrilla war against the regime and then against the U.S. Marines , whom he fought for over five years. When the Americans left in 1933, they set up the Guardia Nacional (national guard), a combined military and police force trained and equipped by the Americans and designed to be loyal to U.S. interests. After
17199-441: The revolution that finally drove the last Somoza out of Nicaragua. In the mid 1980s, musician Paul Kantner traveled to Nicaragua out of concern for the Sandinista situation. While in the country, he was given a song called "Comandante Carlos Fonseca", written by composer Carlos Mejía Godoy and revolutionary Tomás Borge . After reforming Jefferson Starship in the 1990s, he added the song to his repertoire, eventually recording
17346-571: The rivalry between the two feuding cities. Following the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848, Nicaragua provided a route for travelers from the eastern United States to journey to California by sea, via the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua. Invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, the American adventurer and filibuster William Walker set himself up as President of Nicaragua after conducting
17493-415: The rural masses was needed to take on the Somoza forces. These peasants that were taking part in guerrilla activities had to have developed a new revolutionary consciousness for them to risk their lives to attain freedom. Sandinistas, like many Marxists, believe that education is a manifestation of the beliefs of the ruling government, so the regime's ideological tendencies are passed down to the youth. Under
17640-436: The song for the 2008 album Jefferson's Tree of Liberty . Yet while the FSLN continued to pay tribute to the memory of "a safely dead and saintly Carlos", it departed from many of the policies he argued for in his years in exile, giving less priority to land reform and elevating military necessity over popular mobilization in fighting the contras . Fonseca married María Haydée Terán in exile in Mexico in 1965. María Haydée
17787-512: The state, as well as reward the people who rightfully deserved some profit. In some ways, Sandino's mission had been a failure since he did not remove the dictator who was in power, but Fonseca was able to retain the strong legacy of Sandino's spirit in his contemporary military approach. Sandino's guerrilla experience showed Fonseca that revolutionary processes could be developed among the peasantry. Fonseca also learned from Sandino's endeavors that revolutionaries had to learn from past errors, there
17934-547: The symbols of Augusto César Sandino and there is an effort to develop conscious growth through education. Through the transformation of the Movement for a New Nicaragua (MNN) to the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1961, Carlos Fonseca and his fellow revolutionary leaders adopted the image of 1930s guerrilla fighter, Augusto César Sandino to gain popular support across Nicaragua . Prior to
18081-525: The usual naming convention in Latin America and used her surname first, and was consequently known as Carlos Fonseca Amador. His relationship with his father was more ambivalent: Fonseca admired his father's intelligence and abilities and wanted his approval but opposed his politics and privilege. In 1950 Fonseca entered secondary school at the Instituto Nacional del Norte (INN, National Institute of
18228-448: The words "Nican" (here), and " Ānāhuac ", which in turn is a combination of the words "atl" (water) and "nahuac", a locative meaning "surrounded". Therefore the literal translation of Nicanahuac is "here surrounded by water", fitting the theory that the etymology references the large bodies of water in and around the country, the Pacific Ocean , lakes Nicaragua and Xolotlan , and the rivers and lagoons. Additional theories about
18375-482: The year 1958 to 1960 were crucial years in the development of Sandinismo as they marked a turning point in Fonseca's political thought, shifting from Stalin to Sandino as the banner of revolutionary struggle. In the 1961–1962 debates in Havana over the creation of a Nicaraguan revolutionary front, it was Fonseca who persuaded his Nicaraguan student counterparts that Sandino's name should be incorporated in their party. It
18522-496: The years of insurgency and throughout the revolutionary period. However, the Sandinismo of the Terceristas, led by Daniel and Humberto Ortega, gained preponderance over its more doctrinaire rivals during the revolutionary years. The Tercerista's identified capitalism as 'the main obstacle to social progress'. They believed in a gradual transformation of society toward Socialism. The Terceristas believed Nicaragua would have to go through
18669-605: Was a Nicaraguan professor, politician, writer and revolutionary who was one of the founders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Fonseca was later killed in the mountains of the Zelaya Department , Nicaragua , three years before the FSLN took power. He has posthumously received the titles of National Hero of Nicaragua and Commander in Chief of the Sandinista Popular Revolution. Carlos Fonseca Amador
18816-485: Was a major event all over Latin America and sparked both great concern and a sense of possibility in Nicaragua. The Cuban Revolution was a central event in Fonseca's political evolution as it convinced him that a revolution was possible and that organisation to prepare for that was necessary. He also came to believe that the PSN was not suited to that task and that a Nicaraguan revolutionary movement could be created outside of
18963-411: Was a need for theory to guide action, and the collective sharing of knowledge was essential. While rejecting teleological visions, Fonseca still believed that the formation of revolutionary consciousness was making peasants into 'complete human beings'. The idea of consciousness was borrowed from Sandino, and also from the Cuban revolutionaries. As the peasants were taught to read and write they developed
19110-452: Was also fostered. In Sandinismo, nationalism and sovereign independence were key motivators. The sometimes mythic tales of Sandino tapped into the artistic imaginations of the peasants who needed to be convinced, and political passion was given a more concrete form. As with any populist movement, to go along with its abstract ideas an excellent leader was required to march in front of the masses. Sandinismo had several doctrinal strands during
19257-485: Was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Charter. On September 29, 1956, Somoza García was shot to death by Rigoberto López Pérez , a 27-year-old Liberal Nicaraguan poet. Luis Somoza Debayle , the eldest son of the late president, was appointed president by the congress and officially took charge of the country. He is remembered by some as moderate, but after only a few years in power died of
19404-437: Was an account of Sandino that portrayed him as a bandit and communist, written by Somoza . Fonseca revived Sandino's image by writing five texts: Proletarian Guerrilla, Tricontinental, The Political Ideology of General Sandino, Chronology of Sandinista Resistance and Secret Chronicle: Augusto César Sandino Confronts His Betrayers . Sandinistas value Sandino as a hero but also recognize his failure to fulfill his mission due to
19551-567: Was born in the El Laborío neighborhood of the city of Matagalpa on 23 June 1936. He was the son of Agustina Fonseca Úbeda, from San Rafael del Norte , a peasant and cook, and Fausto Amador Alemán, a member of a wealthy coffee-growing family and administrator of the La Reina mine in San Ramón, Matagalpa. Fonseca was born in a "corner house" his aunt Isaura owned, where his mother lived in a back room. At
19698-736: Was by the conquistador Gil González Dávila , who had arrived in Panama in January 1520. In 1522, González Dávila ventured to the area that later became the Rivas Department of Nicaragua. There he encountered an indigenous Nahua tribe led by chief Macuilmiquiztli, whose name has sometimes been erroneously referred to as " Nicarao " or "Nicaragua". The tribe's capital was Quauhcapolca. González Dávila conversed with Macuilmiquiztli thanks to two indigenous interpreters who had learned Spanish, whom he had brought along. After exploring and gathering gold in
19845-481: Was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao , who was a cacique of a powerful nahua tribe encountered by the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila during his entry into southwestern Nicaragua in 1522. This theory held that the etymology of Nicaragua was formed from Nicarao and agua (Spanish for 'water'), to reference the fact that there are two large lakes and several other bodies of water within
19992-610: Was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including
20139-415: Was deported to Guatemala, then deported to Mexico a few days later. He married María Haydée Terán, with whom he had fallen in love in prison, later that year. While Fonseca continued to hold the top leadership position in the FSLN during this period, he was out of the country for much of it, writing several pieces about the poet Rubén Darío while working with colleagues within Nicaragua. In his speech to
20286-402: Was generally viewed as a popular war hero prior to his death. While student movements had used his name in brief struggles, Sandino's assassination in 1934 and the censorship of his name by the Somoza regime and the United States backed Guardia Nacional resulted in the meaning of his struggle being lost through the generations. The only book that was publicly available domestically to Nicaraguans
20433-662: Was held until November 14, 1956, when he was released without charges, possibly due to his father's intervention. In 1957, Fonseca traveled to the Soviet Union as a PSN delegate to the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth . Fonseca later wrote a book chronicling his visit to the USSR entitled Un Nicaragüense en Moscú ("A Nicaraguan in Moscow"). The book featured uncritical praise of
20580-491: Was in 1961 when the Sandinista Front would be created in Honduras. Fonseca's ideological tendency was entitled the " Protracted People's War " because of its mass support among the peasantry and its reliance on guerrilla tactics. The gradual approach in the countryside involved isolating portions of the highly trained National Guard into weaker portions, and eliminating these smaller segments one by one. Popular support from
20727-480: Was in his emphasis on education for the peasantry. When Sandino was assassinated his revolutionary thoughts died with him. In the case of Fonseca, he had put so much work into making a "collective will" and consciousness among the peasantry that the Sandinista Revolution was able to survive and thrive after Fonseca's death in battle. The Sandinista political thought was so deeply enshrined in the peasants that
20874-442: Was just as ineffective, and then by Juventud Patriótica Nicaragüense (JPN, Nicaraguan Patriotic Youth), a group originally founded by children of Conservative Party members opposed to Somoza that led a number of protests throughout the country. It, too, later folded, following Luis Somoza's declaration of a state of siege in November 1960. These short-lived groups did, however, leave a tradition of militant street action, solidarity with
21021-406: Was later assassinated, founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). After the 1972 earthquake and Somoza's apparent corruption, the ranks of the Sandinistas were flooded with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose. In December 1974, a group of the FSLN, in an attempt to kidnap U.S. ambassador Turner Shelton, held some Managuan partygoers hostage after killing
21168-797: Was named director of the library at the Miguel Ramírez Goyena Institute. He combined that work with studies at the School of Economics of the National University . The following year he moved to León , Nicaragua and enrolled in the Faculty of Law while working at the La Prensa agency. He remained active in the PSN, devoting himself to student organizing and forming a student cell of the Party with Silvio Mayorga and Tomás Borge. Fonseca still embraced
21315-527: Was one of the few countries that did not enter an INDC at COP21 . Nicaragua initially chose not to join the Paris Climate Accord because it felt that "much more action is required" by individual countries on restricting global temperature rise. However, in October 2017, Nicaragua made the decision to join the agreement. It ratified this agreement on November 22, 2017. Carlos Fonseca Carlos Fonseca Amador (23 June 1936 – 8 November 1976)
21462-608: Was the first woman president of Nicaragua. Ortega vowed he would govern desde abajo (from below). Chamorro came to office with an economy in ruins, primarily because of the financial and social costs of the Contra War with the Sandinista-led government. In the 1996 general election , Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas of the FSLN lost again, this time to Arnoldo Alemán of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC). In
21609-475: Was two years younger than Carlos, from a well-known family of liberal dissidents in León; her father and brother were members of the Independent Liberal Party (PLI). Her family owned a publishing house, Editorial Antorcha, and a bookstore near the University. She maintained contacts with student activists and participated in different protests against the dictatorship. María Haydée met Carlos Fonseca at
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